Lumatek digital ballasts

[kbo ca]

i never messed with the dim feature. Just left it at 1000. never had any problems with any of the bulbs ive burned. I just wanted to raise awareness about what could possibly happen. There are way too many testimonials of guys having these ballasts melt things and catch shit on fire, or just plain malfunctioning. Who knows how they had their equipment wired, but if you're like me, and a stickler for safety, I'm sure you would like to know that this kind of thing is happening. I'm glad yours hasn't given you problems, and it's smart to keep back ups. but at the point where one of those things starts a fire, the backups won't help too much.

 

[phishtank]

Let me explain something to you about reviews on items....the thousands and thousands of these ballasts that have been sold and are working you'll never hear about...because people don't go on and start talking about products unless something is wrong with it. Anytime you're playing with electronics like this...who knows what could go wrong.

 

[phillipchristian]

I agree with Phish on this one. There is a reason that Lumatek is the most sold and highly spoken of ballast. There are always gonna be guys who talk shit about any product or people who generally do have a reason not to like them but Lumatek's prices are cheaper than most of their competitors; they have a VERY good product in my opinion; and they obviously stand by their warranty. I am really sorry that this happened to you and it sounds like a pain in the ass. Fact of the matter is even with the best products in the world there are always going to be problems.

 

[kbo ca]

I agree with Phish on this one. There is a reason that Lumatek is the most sold and highly spoken of ballast. There are always gonna be guys who talk shit about any product or people who generally do have a reason not to like them but Lumatek's prices are cheaper than most of their competitors; they have a VERY good product in my opinion; and they obviously stand by their warranty. I am really sorry that this happened to you and it sounds like a pain in the ass. Fact of the matter is even with the best products in the world there are always going to be problems.

Just got back from the hydro shop and the owner tells me he barely sells any lumateks, and most get returned for the fuse malfunction. This type of thing is common. I'm sure a lot of them work, but there are also a lot that don't work properly. it's a very real danger, and i'm giving all a heads up. I don't mean any disrespect to you guys that love lumatek products. And phish I'm not playing with it at all, I was using it as instructed. It was installed correctly to it's own outlet. I could understand a product malfunctioning with improper installation, but with me that wasn't the cause. It was purely manufacturing's fault, and the lumatek rep said so himself, and that it was a common problem so there is no point in arguing that. Like I said I'm glad yours works, and hope it continues to do so, but the fact is that these ballasts have problems and i would have liked to have known about them before i purchased mine, so I'm giving a heads up.

 

[phillipchristian]

Fair enough dude but check the facts...for cannibus growers Lumatek is BY FAR the #1 selling ballast. I have owned roughly 30 in my lifetime and never had a problem with a single one that wasn't either my fault or a ballast that was older than 4 years. I would say 50% of my friends who are growers use Lumatek as well and none of them have problems or complaints about their ballasts either. Call Greners, BGHydro, Hydro Farm, Sun Sytems, etc... and they will all tell you the same thing; that Lumatek is the best selling ballast in the business and for good reason. I have 2 friends who own hydro stores and they both sell more Lumateks then all of the other ballasts combined. Considering all of the threads on here with all of the growers there are I haven't seen to many people (if any) complaining about their Lumateks. Because they are the most visible brand of ballast around any complaint about them is going to stand out like Phish said.

Like I said man I am really sorry that your ballast blew and I wish you the best of luck going forward but I don't think your claims as to consistent manufacturer error with Lumatek ballasts has any real truth behind it. No offense but I don't trust most hydro store guys anyway and I have no clue what your hydro guy knows or doesn't. The reason I trust my friends is not only are they hydro store owners but they are also long time growers. I also highly doubt that a Lumatek rep would tell your their product has an ongoing deficiency. Even if it were true. Best of luck to you.

 

[kbo ca]

Fair enough dude but check the facts...for cannibus growers Lumatek is BY FAR the #1 selling ballast. I have owned roughly 30 in my lifetime and never had a problem with a single one that wasn't either my fault or a ballast that was older than 4 years. I would say 50% of my friends who are growers use Lumatek as well and none of them have problems or complaints about their ballasts either. Call Greners, BGHydro, Hydro Farm, Sun Sytems, etc... and they will all tell you the same thing; that Lumatek is the best selling ballast in the business and for good reason. I have 2 friends who own hydro stores and they both sell more Lumateks then all of the other ballasts combined. Considering all of the threads on here with all of the growers there are I haven't seen to many people (if any) complaining about their Lumateks. Because they are the most visible brand of ballast around any complaint about them is going to stand out like Phish said.



Like I said man I am really sorry that your ballast blew and I wish you the best of luck going forward but I don't think your claims as to consistent manufacturer error with Lumatek ballasts has any real truth behind it. No offense but I don't trust most hydro store guys anyway and I have no clue what your hydro guy knows or doesn't. The reason I trust my friends is not only are they hydro store owners but they are also long time growers. I also highly doubt that a Lumatek rep would tell your their product has an ongoing deficiency. Even if it were true. Best of luck to you.

well go ahead and highly doubt it, you didn't talk to the guy. By now i understand you're all over lumatek, and back them up but it doesn't change anything and this little back and forth isn't getting anywhere. You obviously stand by the product because you haven't had one fail you. I understand that, and you don't have to tell me again. fact is they do fuck up and it can be dangerous.

 

[phillipchristian]

I'm not trying to be a dick or anything man. I promise. I mean, you opened a thread in the subject so I figured you wanted a little "back and forth" on it? Sorry if you feel I trolled your thread.

 

[WileyCoyote]

hello everyone, just wanted to post a warning. If you're thinking of buying a lumatek digital ballast for your grow room.... don't. Mine just blew a fuse, and i have to send it in to be fixed. They have a great warranty but while you're waiting for them to fix your broken ballast your garden is suffering. I just got off the phone with lumatek and they said the ballast needs to be replaced, not the fuse, the whole damn thing.

I asked him what i could do to prevent this from happening again, and he said a number of things could make this problem occur, and you can't prevent all of them. so basically what he is telling me is, I have purchased an inferior product, and I will need to constantly worry about it working properly as i have no assurances it will do so. I don't want anything lumatek in my grow room anymore, I also don't want anyone else to get stuck in this shitty situation. So heads up folks, don't buy lumatek

Lumateks are great. You got a bad one. Bad luck. Every manufacturer puts out a dud every now and then. You are wrong to diss Lumatek as a whole just because yours blew a fuse. Look on the bright side: you're getting a brand new one. Good luck with that kind of warranty with other manufacturers. Use some T5's till your new ballast arrives. Or demand they ship you the new one over night.

 

[kbo ca]

Lumateks are great. You got a bad one. Bad luck. Every manufacturer puts out a dud every now and then. You are wrong to diss Lumatek as a whole just because yours blew a fuse. Look on the bright side: you're getting a brand new one. Good luck with that kind of warranty with other manufacturers. Use some T5's till your new ballast arrives. Or demand they ship you the new one over night.

ya i understand that mistakes are made. But in this biz mistakes cost people property, time, money, and sometimes their lives. I'm just sharing my experience with the brand. I have no want for a new ballast, because there will be the constant worry that it will malfunction again just the same. The lumatek rep that i spoke with told me this kind of problem happens often. A blown fuse isn't something i can just replace, you have to get a whole new ballast. I'm not trying to 'dis' lumatek I'm just sharing my experience, and my opinion on the product

 

[kbo ca]

I'm not trying to be a dick or anything man. I promise. I mean, you opened a thread in the subject so I figured you wanted a little "back and forth" on it? Sorry if I trolled your thread.

my bad bro, as im sure you can understand i'm pretty heated with this whole situation to start with, and it seemed like you thought i was just out to bash lumatek. That's not the point I just wanted to share my opinion and experience in hopes that the next guy doesn't have to go through it. I can be a dick sometimes. lol

 

[kbo ca]

a lot of other companies have a 5 year warranty. Xtra sun being one of them. I just picked up an Xtra sun magnetic switchable to replace the defective lumatek. I'm only going to be running magnetic now, because i can fix them myself, and i haven't had to fix anything on the ones i own yet.

 

[phillipchristian]

my bad bro, as im sure you can understand i'm pretty heated with this whole situation to start with, and it seemed like you thought i was just out to bash lumatek. That's not the point I just wanted to share my opinion and experience in hopes that the next guy doesn't have to go through it. I can be a dick sometimes. lol

No sweat bud. best of luck getting the problem fixed and with your grow.

 

[WileyCoyote]

ya i understand that mistakes are made. But in this biz mistakes cost people property, time, money, and sometimes their lives. I'm just sharing my experience with the brand. I have no want for a new ballast, because there will be the constant worry that it will malfunction again just the same. The lumatek rep that i spoke with told me this kind of problem happens often. A blown fuse isn't something i can just replace, you have to get a whole new ballast. I'm not trying to 'dis' lumatek I'm just sharing my experience, and my opinion on the product

I wish you luck bro. I can imagine your frustration. Things will get better soon with whatever ballast manufacturer you choose. All the leading manufacturers make good ones...

 

[Ilovebush]

Hey...just wanna drop ma 2 cents. I love lumatek but any manufacturer can produce a dud. This thread stresses the importance of fire suppression equipment and why it should never be overlooked as fires should be expected when growing. U gotta be prepared even if the the chance of a fire is remote. I like the idea of having backups for everthing that could cause a major disruption such as bulbs, ballasts, pumps etc. Hope for the best but definitely expect the worst.

 

[Gastanker]

Hey...just wanna drop ma 2 cents. I love lumatek but any manufacturer can produce a dud. This thread stresses the importance of fire suppression equipment and why it should never be overlooked as fires should be expected when growing. U gotta be prepared even if the the chance of a fire is remote. I like the idea of having backups for everthing that could cause a major disruption such as bulbs, ballasts, pumps etc. Hope for the best but definitely expect the worst.

Amen to this. For $40 you can buy quite a bit of peace of mind.

 

[phishtank]

I've got a 1000W xtra sun ballast and I will say that thing is one hell of a trooper...but also weighs a shit ton. Trying to figure out how I want to use it now.

 

[kbo ca]

yeah 40 bucks for a fire extinguisher will be the best 40 you ever spent. And phish The xtra sun is the one i just bought. Ive been running a few of them for years, You're right they are heavy as hell, and it sucks to bump in to one if they are wall mounted lol.

 

[kbo ca]

I wish you luck bro. I can imagine your frustration. Things will get better soon with whatever ballast manufacturer you choose. All the leading manufacturers make good ones...

Thanks man, i actually got everything squared away last night. I can't have a lamp out for more than a day or i start to feel the bite. Now i just need to work on getting a refund from lumatek

 

[polyarcturus]

fuck the refund just get the new ballast they where gonna send you and run the shit out of it. i like magnetic dont get me wrong but when it comes to light output digital ballast are just slightly better. you should just keep a backup and still run digitals IMO

 

[phishtank]

you can always sell the ballast to me ^_^